Transport

Predicting behavioural changes

To plan and prioritise correctly you need to understand the different ways in which your customers and stakeholders interact with your services. What will they do when you make changes? How will they modify their behaviour?

Our research in this area has provided information on topics as diverse as behavioural changes in response to the London Congestion Charge, the specific routes used by heavy goods vehicles travelling throughout the country and the provision of public transport to retired people.

Recent projects include:

• Tracking study for Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) exploring public perceptions of safety on the railway in comparison with other modes of transport, with in-home interviews amongst a sample of 1,000 respondents.
• Monitoring the social impacts of congestion charging. We carried out a longitudinal study tracking household respondents across seven neighbourhoods to identify the impact of the congestion charging scheme on household members and their wider community. This involved an extensive questionnaire administered in-home amongst those living within the zone and inner London. A telephone survey was conducted amongst people visiting London who live in outer London and beyond the M25.
• A longitudinal survey on behalf of SWT to investigate changes in behaviour as a consequence of their significant timetable changes.
• Trespass and Vandalism on the Railways for the RSSB, a large-scale self-completion postal survey among front line staff of TOCs, Railtrack, British Transport Police and railway contractors examining attitudes towards trespassing and vandalism on the railways.
• Qualitative study amongst young people investigating attitudes towards 'playing on the railways' and ways of engaging with them to reduce rail trespass and vandalism, including usage of websites and SMS.